Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hurricane Sandy proved to be a force to be reckoned with these last few days. Luckily in my area, the hurricane didn't pack as much punch as it did in areas of New York, New Jersey, and the Caribbean. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the storm, particularly my family in the Northeast and the Caribbean.

Sandy made me think about how much crazy weather is ahead of us -- rain, rough winds, snow. It isn't over yet. And the best thing we can do is prepare ourselves for it (and look cute at the same time!). I know, I'm terrible; but you know this is a fashion blog. Here's a great look for heading to work in the rain. Layering is a great option. And I absolutely love the idea of trekking in my rain boats and pulling out a super cute pair of flats after settling in at the office.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ever since I transitioned from the world of "completely broke student" to "not so broke, but still a little broke, attorney," I decided I would begin to build a new wardrobe that represents my personal style. My goal was to get to the point where I absolutely love every single item in my wardrobe. And my plan was to buy one item every month within a certain budget.While I have bought some trendy items that may not be around for more than a few years (i.e. J.Crew denim shirt), most of the items tend to be basic, high quality long-lasting items that I know will stay with me for many many seasons (if I care for them properly and don't suddenly gain a ton of weight!). Just as an example, so far I've purchased Ray Ban Aviators, a white silk button down from Zara, white jeans and a green pencil skirt from J.Crew, a brown high-waisted bow skirt from a North Carolina boutique, and nude pumps from Ann Taylor. Each item is selected with weeks of thorough consideration of the item's price, fit, and level of quality. Hence, I don't impulse shop...unless I'm at an outlet mall. Please don't let me near an outlet mall. It's fun for me to think about what awesome item I'm going to get this month, and my wallet loves me more for it. (Next on the list is a black top with leather trimmings. Teeheehee!!!)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

From a previous post, you all know how crazy I am about jacquard as one of this season's best trends, particularly for the work place. So when I saw these gray jacquard pants at Mango, I almost keeled over, but instead, I decided to do an outfit post. Happy Tuesday!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Last week, I was invited to attend a wonderful event coordinated by the sponsors of Fashion Law Week in Washington, D.C. The event took place at the Alton Lane showroom in Dupont where they thoroughly spoiled us with cupcakes and adult beverages. We also heard some great news in the fashion law community from an intellectual property attorney in D.C. This brings me to today's post.

The fashion community is currently lobbying Congress to pass a bill to extend copyright protection to fashion designs for three years. Clothing designs don't currently receive any copyright protection because of their "utility." According to the US Copyright Office, clothing is meant to cover your body, not decorate it, (apparently they've never been to NYFW) which is why prints on fabric may be protected, but not the actual design of a top or skirt.

Currently, there is no liability for copying someone's designs. On the one hand, many in the fashion industry believe that without copying, we wouldn't have a lot of the wonderful designs we have today. These designs would also be inaccessible to those of us that can't pay thousands of dollars for a piece of clothing. However, it is difficult to validate the copying of someone's hard work and innovation. I think the three year limitation on copyright protection that this bill puts forward balances all of these concerns.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

This outfit is so vampire-y. I love it. But I also love leather, burgundy, and mysterious floral prints. So along with my obsession for all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I've recently committed to re-visiting all the episodes on Netflix.), I also have an obssession for this outfit.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Shopping on a budget can be difficult. However, it doesn't mean you have to throw style out the window just because you can't buy that $200 Tory Burch purse. I think online shops, particularly those that are headquartered in the UK, are perfect for those of us that may be a little ba-roque. Here's an outfit that features many of my favorite online shops, along with some traditional ones, with items all under $50. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Brrrrr!!!! I am not ready for this cold weather! I haven't even considered unpacking my winter sweaters. In the meantime, I guess we need to start working together some outfits with cozy sweaters and warm, knitted scarves. Here's one with a great boucle sweater in one of this season's hottest colors: oxblood!

Friday, October 5, 2012

My favorite holiday of the year, besides Christmas and my birthday, is Halloween. It's so fun to get dressed up and party all night long to spooky themed music and drink smoke-filled cocktails. But do you know what completely ruins the holiday for me?? I come into work and find that all my female colleagues are wearing tacky halloween decorations that double as jewelry, clothing, or worse yet...devil horns! Please don't wear devil horns at work. It's so inappropriate. Anyway, here are some appropriate and super cute halloween-themed items you can bring in to work:

Thursday, October 4, 2012

October is breast cancer awareness month. And while I don't suggest walking into work in a whole pink-on-pink outfit, I do promote showing some support for the cause. Along with your pin, here are a few other suggestions to help save the tatas.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It's a chilly, rainy, foggy day in my neck of the woods and the first thing I want to reach for is my beloved sweater dress. It's so hard to find a sweater dress that's long enough for work (see my 1-inch above the knee rule) and not frumpy. Here are some suggestions to combat both of these problems.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

In my "I just got a kindle" frenzy last November, I decided I would download every free book available on Amazon. I actually found a few gems, one of them being "The Book of Household Management." While most of it isn't relevant today, it's so fun to see what the dynamic was back then between a Mistress and her "Domestics." Besides actually including some great leadership and management advice, there's a section on fashion. Here's an excerpt:

To Brunettes, or those ladies having dark complexions, silks of a grave hue are adapted. For Blondes, or those having fair complexions, lighter colours are preferable, as the richer, deeper hues are too overpowering for the latter. The colours which go best together are green with violet; gold-colour with dark crimson or lilac; pale blue with scarlet; pink with black or white; and gray with scarlet or pink. A cold colour generally requires a warm tint to give life to it. Gray and pale blue, for instance, do not combine well, both being cold colours.

While I don't agree with everything that's said (i.e. no deeper hues for blondes and the cold colors concept), it's great to see how much of this is still relevant today. I absolutely love gold and crimson. In fact, I've created an outfit for work featuring these colors that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.